Britain’s ambassador to the United States has said America’s only “special relationship” is “probably Israel” and not Britain.
Sir Christian Turner’s remarks, made in February at an event with British students visiting Washington, were reported on Tuesday by the Financial Times, on the second day of King Charles’ visit to the US this week.
The remarks may come as a significant embarrassment to the British government, particularly since UK-US ties are strained over Britain’s initial reluctance to be drawn into the US-Israeli war on Iran.
Turner said during a question-and-answer session with students that the phrase “special relationship”, often used to describe UK-US ties, was “quite nostalgic, it’s quite backwards looking, and it has a lot of baggage about it”.
He added: “I think there is probably one country that has a special relationship with the United States – and that is probably Israel.”
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But he said that there was a “deep history and affinity between us. Particularly on defence and security, we are intertwined.”
Turner said that Britain must “work to redefine” its relationship with the US and not simply rely on an American security umbrella.
US-UK ties strained
The Trump administration threatened last week to “punish” its Nato allies for their perceived lack of support for the war on Iran, with Trump even suggesting he could recognise the Falkland Islands as Argentinian territory.
This would be a major provocation to the UK, which claims sovereignty over the islands.
Stephen Doughty, the UK minister of state for Europe and North America, said on Monday that Britain does not support the US blockade of Iranian ports and that maritime traffic must move freely without tolls or security risks.
Trump has relentlessly mocked and criticised Starmer over the past two months for his initial reluctance to allow the US to use British bases to attack Iran, even though Britain ultimately agreed the US could use British bases to target Iranian missile sites and – as of nearly two weeks ago – for attacks intended to open the Strait of Hormuz.
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Turner also said it was “extraordinary” that the scandal surrounding convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein “hasn’t touched anybody” in the US.
By contrast, he said, senior British figures – including his predecessor as US ambassador, Peter Mandelson – have been “brought down” by the scandal.
Turner, who took up his post earlier this year, after Mandelson’s removal, added that “potentially the prime minister”, Keir Starmer, could be brought down by the Epstein affair.
He said Starmer was “on the ropes” for having appointed Peter Mandelson as US ambassador in 2024 and that Labour could “remove” him after the local elections on 7 May, although he called the prime minister a “stubborn guy”.
Turner asked: “How many Americans have been called to testify before Congress when the Epstein files show very, very senior people, politicians, business folks, Bill Gates, all having a close association with Epstein?”
The Foreign Office said: “These were private, informal comments made to a group of UK sixth-form students visiting the US in early February.
“They are certainly not any reflection of the UK government’s position.”
